Here are eight findings related to antimicrobial stewardship in the past month, beginning with the most recent.
1. Antibiotic treatment courses in long-term care facilities often exceed the time in which most common bacterial infections can be treated, which may contribute to antibiotic resistance, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
2. The development of new antibiotics to treat infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria is "alarmingly slow," according to a report by the Infectious Diseases Society of America published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
3. An Internet-based preapproval antimicrobial stewardship program can effectively reduce both the number of doses and the subsequent costs of restricted antimicrobials, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
4. Seventy-three healthcare professionals identified five reasons antimicrobials are misused in healthcare facilities in a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
5. Antibiotic resistance among outpatients is a growing concern and warrants attention from both hospitals and outpatient clinics, according to a study in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease.
6. Quality improvement strategies increased appropriate prescription of antibiotics in a children's hospital emergency department from 0 percent to 100 percent in six months, according to a study in Pediatrics.
7. There has been a dramatic increase in the frequency of drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae nationwide, according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
8. In 2010, U.S. healthcare providers prescribed 258 million courses of antibiotics, or 833 prescriptions for every 1,000 Americans, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
1. Antibiotic treatment courses in long-term care facilities often exceed the time in which most common bacterial infections can be treated, which may contribute to antibiotic resistance, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
2. The development of new antibiotics to treat infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria is "alarmingly slow," according to a report by the Infectious Diseases Society of America published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
3. An Internet-based preapproval antimicrobial stewardship program can effectively reduce both the number of doses and the subsequent costs of restricted antimicrobials, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
4. Seventy-three healthcare professionals identified five reasons antimicrobials are misused in healthcare facilities in a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
5. Antibiotic resistance among outpatients is a growing concern and warrants attention from both hospitals and outpatient clinics, according to a study in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease.
6. Quality improvement strategies increased appropriate prescription of antibiotics in a children's hospital emergency department from 0 percent to 100 percent in six months, according to a study in Pediatrics.
7. There has been a dramatic increase in the frequency of drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae nationwide, according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
8. In 2010, U.S. healthcare providers prescribed 258 million courses of antibiotics, or 833 prescriptions for every 1,000 Americans, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
